


Zodiac's Child

by Karieauthoress (ksrandomme), ksrandomme



Category: The Sentinel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-16
Updated: 2011-05-15
Packaged: 2017-10-19 11:17:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/200243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksrandomme/pseuds/Karieauthoress, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksrandomme/pseuds/ksrandomme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim Ellison thinks he's the only one with a special secret. But after the disappearance of his partner, Blair Sandburg, Jim learns that some secrets are out of this world!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When Jim Ellison’s partner went missing, it took six months for him to lose his control. It was the scariest feeling in the world for me and for the men and women of Major Crimes. For months after the dissertation fiasco, we watched over the partners as they settled into their new roles of rookie and mentor. Sandburg had taken the badge, the responsibilities of going to the Academy (which he was not truly required to endure) and dealing with whispers from the dissenters in the rank and file patrol officers. Ellison had stood behind the young man as he shifted from Academic to Detective, even helping out with the money situation when Sandburg sued the publishers who stole his work, and brought charges against the University for defamation of character when he was forced to deny his work in order to protect Jim and the Cascade Police Department. Soon after that judgment came through, including an order for a public apology from Chancellor Edwards, the whispers stopped and the praises began to pile up. Life was easier.

 

And then the night of chaos took it all away. I was in route when I got the call. Ellison was screaming in the background for the paramedics, Sandburg had been hurt. Brown called me to let me know, the bust had gone down without a hitch. The case was closed. But then… someone had tried to kill the kid. That would never do. The ambulance had arrived and they were preparing to load him on it to take him to Cascade General. Brown and Rafe could handle the scene, Taggart had just arrived. Ellison was in frenzy. I changed course and made my way to the hospital. My best team would need me to talk to the staff and help them there. When I arrived I could hear the older of the team screaming orders left and right. Doctors were working hard to save the kid’s life. I wasn’t getting any answers from the yelling so I went for a nurse who had just stepped out. Her only information was that there had been multiple stab wounds, and that Ellison was out of control. I stepped in to remedy that quickly, grabbing his out flung arm and hauling him out of the room, pinning him against the wall. This was a move that should never have been able to effect an ex-ranger, and was just one more testament to his diminished control.

 

After yelling at my star detective to knock off the histrionics and to tell me what had happened, he sputtered to a halt and took several deep breaths before he explained the attack. It felt so surreal. Someone—or as Ellison described it some *thing*-- had attacked Blair in the rain outside. No one else but Jim could *see* the attacker, and he could only see shadows and an odd reflection through the downpour. Jim, of course, had waded into the fray in order to stop the attack, to save his partner. But there had been so much blood. So much… Now the doctors in the trauma room were doing their best to fix enough of what was broken to get the kid up to surgery. I had taken the report fully from Jim, sat back on my heels and nudged him silently. He had used his incredible sense of hearing to check the progress of the trauma team and was out of his seat like a shot, racing down the aisles to the stairs, taking them two at a time. By the time we reached the surgery wing it was too late. The doctors and nurses were at a loss as to where their patient had disappeared to. Jim listened long and hard, nearly zoning out before he came to the conclusion… Blair Sandburg was missing, kidnapped… and quite possibly, due to his various injuries, very dead.

 

Just as we struggled with this pain and horror, news came from Los Angeles. Naomi Sandburg was found stabbed to death in the home of a friend. The friend had gone out for his shopping and returned to find the woman lay out on the floor in the middle of the living room. The M.E. lost count of the holes in her body. I thought Jim was going to crack. First Blair and then this. The two of us believed that someone had systematically attempted to wipe out both Sandburgs. And it seemed they might have succeeded. I went with Jim to deal with Naomi’s body, having her cremated and taking the ashes to Big Sur where we scattered them across the winds over a waterfall. It was what she would have wanted, we felt. It was the least we could do, since we had lost her son.

 

Life went downhill after that, at a very fast rate. Within three weeks, Jim was suffering from the loss of his Guide. His hearing spiked during conversations. His sight switched on and off. His skin was constantly itching and his nose betrayed him by spiking on the most noxious fumes from all areas. He had stopped eating again. I watched it happen and felt helpless to my very bones. Megan Conner tried to help but even between the two of us Jim suffered. His senses slid to below his normal level within a month. By two months it was normal level for a human and we all thought that it might have been a good thing. But then another two months down the road and even that level of control was gone. I was working hard to stand by Jim’s side, but even he had to concede defeat. It had been nearly six months since Sandburg’s disappearance and Jim was having to make the tough choice. Before he lost all control, he told me his decision. He would be housed in St. Augustine’s, a sister church to St. Sebastian’s abbey. St. Augustine’s was the home of many doctor monks and nurse nuns who made it their mission in life to care for the insane and mentally infirm. Jim wanted to be cared for by people who might not understand his problem, but would treat him with care all the same.

 

The rest of the sad tale was Jim resigning from the force; cutting ties with his father and brother, after explaining things to them, and my driving him to the hospital. They processed him quickly and shut him away, as asked. I still visited him, but I could see him slowly slipping away. It took three more weeks for Jim to float off into his own private hell. Peace is an illusion we dream up to explain the abject silence and absolute stillness of all things surrounding a body. For Jim, it was nothing but loss.


	2. Chapter 1

She wasn’t sure what she had expected when she opened the door to the apartment with her key device. But the room on the other side of the door appeared lived in and well cared for, someone still lived there. She hoped it was Jim Ellison; she really didn’t have a bunch of time to look for the man who was once friend to her sovereign. She knew she was doomed to disappointment when the lights flicked on behind her and a booming voice call from the loft bedroom, “All right, put your hands up. Don’t make me shoot you, Lady.”

 

Glorious Dawn, Last of the Royal Guard of Zodiac, grimaced before raising her hands and dutifully turning to face the threat. A big black man tromped down the stairs to stand before her, his gun held confidently. By the look on his face she could tell that one wrong move and he’d feel no compunction in drilling a hole through her skull. She tried a winning smile to project an air of friendliness. “Hello... You are not Jim Ellison, are you?” she asked cheerily. The man grimaced.

 

“No, I am not. Who are you? Where did you come from? What do you want with Jim Ellison?” The questions were fired rapidly in an attempt to throw her off or make her feel uncomfortable. But she knew she was here for a good reason, so it didn’t upset her in the least. She dropped her shoulders in an attempt to relax as she shifted her weight. The man watched her warily. She sighed.

 

“Okay, here’s the thing. I need to find Jim Ellison; he has some information that I need. I don’t know him, but I know a friend of his. Jim’s the only one who can fill in this information. Now I’m going to put my hands down, because I am getting tired. Either you can shoot me, or you can take my word that I am no threat to you or Jim.” She really was tired. Glancing out the balcony doors, she saw the clouds rolling in like a thick blanket. This was not good, a dangerous indicator that Zodiac’s enemies were here on this planet again. And they had to be after the same person as she was. But she still didn’t know why.

 

In the mean time, she still had a gun pointed at her by a man she didn’t have a name for. Any other time she would have felt this as rude. But she really didn’t have time to sort it out. Taking a chance, she dropped her hands, and didn’t get shot. That had to be taken as a good sign. “What information are you looking for?” asked the big man dubiously. Yeah, she figured he’d be nosy. But this was obviously his home so what did she expect. He obviously wasn’t Jim Ellison; she had seen his picture already.

 

With a shrug of her shoulder she answered, “I need to know why Blair Sandburg wrote four years worth of journal entries on the guy. I want to know how it was that Jim Ellison caught the assassin meant to kill Blair Sandburg. I want to know if he could do it again. And I want to know if Jim Ellison cares enough about Blair Sandburg to come with me to continue protecting Blair Sandburg.”

 

The man blinked with disbelief plain on his face. He lowered his gun and canted his head to the side. “Blair Sandburg is dead. Jim didn’t ‘save’ him. He’s been dead and gone for six months now.” His halting reply was, at times, punctuated with repeated clearings of the throat.

 

Glorious frowned for a moment; surely he didn’t believe the words he spoke? He had to know that Blair was... but then she had to smile. Even if he didn’t know at the time, she could give him good news now, “To paraphrase Mr. Samuel Clemens, the reports of Blair Sandburg’s death have been greatly exaggerated.”

 

o-O-o

 

Simon scowled a moment. No, there was no way that Blair was alive. This woman had to be lying. Simon snarled at the woman, lip curled and eyes squinting, “Who hired you, lady? You think this is some sort of joke you can pull on me? Blair Sandburg is dead, I was there.”

 

He spun away from her, charging towards the balcony doors and that god-awful dark sky, black clouds rolling in from the bay. More clouds closed in from the south and, if he turned slightly, he could see more coming in from the north as well. He flinched away from the angry sky, turning his gaze back on the woman, the intruder into his home, his friends’ home. “Tell me, if you know so much, what happened that night that tells you Blair Sandburg is still alive?”

 

The woman’s smile drifted away and she shrugged, rolling her slim shoulders a bit and tossing back her jet black hair. Simon had not seen a woman so in command of herself in quite some time, but this woman exuded confidence, as if she could walk through hell and ice not melt off her tongue. Her explanation left a lot to be desired, “Do you have his body?”

 

Simon sniffed, “No. It went missing that same night.”

 

The woman nodded, “I have it. Or rather, my compatriots have it. It’s a long way from here, under careful watch.”

 

“Watch?” Simon countered, “You think someone is still going to come after him?”

 

“Of course,” she replied.

 

“Just how do you know this?” he challenged. She sighed and dropped her gaze a moment.

 

“Now, if I go and tell you that, you will most likely have me thrown in jail or the loony bin. It’s that fantastic of a story.”

 

Simon rolled his eyes a moment before waving a hand as if to say ‘get on with it’. She waited a moment before whatever she was looking for in him was found. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she explained, “Those things that attacked Blair were aliens. And they will, indeed, attempt to hurt him, or those with him, again. He is, after all, the remaining Ruling monarch of Zodiac, 32 million light years from here, in what you call Galaxy M74, seen in the Pisces constellation.”

 

Simon gulped at the information. “You have got to be kidding me.”

 

The woman shrugged again, her attitude clearly telling him to take it or leave it; the answer would remain the same. He frowned. “Like I need this shit again,” he muttered in a tone of long suffering. The woman grinned. He scowled at her again.

 

“Fine, then what’s your name?” he demanded of her.

 

“Glorious Dawn,” she replied without blinking. Simon sighed.

 

“Lemme guess, you had hippy parents and were born in the early 70’s?” he asked, amusement crackling in his voice. She waved it away as a careful answer and he didn’t press. “Well, Ms. Glorious, what exactly do you propose to ask Jim Ellison? I ask only because, as I have his Power of Attorney now, I need to know to what extent I should have to expose my friend to more heartache. You say you have Blair Sandburg, you say the young man is alive. Perhaps you can tell me why he hasn’t attempted to call and let his friends, his partner know that he is still among the living?”

 

The woman, Glorious, finally showed a bit of embarrassment at this line of questioning. “We, um, couldn’t let that happen. See, we wanted Blair to simply disappear, so that you and the rest of the world would be safe from our enemies.”

 

Simon felt his skin crawl, almost as if before a great storm when the static electricity crackles the air. He flicked a glance at the clouds outside, then back at Glorious. “They came back, didn’t they? They are coming for Jim this time, aren’t they?”

 

Glorious nodded sadly. The first boom of thunder rumbled the ground, the lighting outside beginning to flash brightly against the angry dark sky. Simon took a deep breath and swore darkly, “Damn aliens. Hollywood sometimes doesn’t get it all right, do they?”

 

Glorious shrugged, “And then sometimes they do just fine, we just tend to forget that in all folktales and stories there is oft times a small kernel of truth.”

 

Simon grinned, “Well then, how about you and I go ruin some alien’s day, eh?”

 

o-O-o

 

Banks took Glorious to an old abbey that had been transformed into a long term managed care facility on the far side of town, out of the way of everything. Their journey took them deep within the bowels of the abbey, so deep and dark and silent that the solitude was nearly complete. When they arrived at one of the last cells in the ward, Banks stopped and turned back to her. "This is as far as I go." he spoke plainly. Glorious nodded hesitantly before walking up to the door and gently turning the knob.

 

Even for all her caution, the click of the lock was still loud and a moan sounded from inside before she even opened the door. She held her breath and tried to control her thundering heart as she opened the door and moved to look inside. The moans inside became louder and she peered through the darkness trying to see something, anything that would tell her what was inside. A single candle lit one far corner of the room and inside on one simple chair sat a nun who looked up once, smiled faintly, and then returned to silently clicking her rosary beads. Her focus was on the bed against the wall in which a thin, very gaunt form lay on the sheets.

 

The head of the person in the bed turned towards her and the lids of his eyes slipped open to reveal a thin shine of blue. His mouth opened silently and closed again with a thick swallowing that she could see as his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. And she knew. She knew who this was. Thunder crashed outside as the storm came closer. She knew who this was and she knew what she had to do. Pulling a slim device out of her pocket she turned away from the room and walked down the hall a few steps before flipping it on. The green indicator light came on and she began to speak. "Thorn, we have a change in plans. This is now a rescue mission. Get Sheld on the line."

 

Banks watched her but she ignored him as she carried on setting her plans in motion, giving orders and receiving instant acknowledgement. Let the enemies come, they had lost once and they would lose again.


	3. Chapter 3

Jim’s first thought upon opening his eyes was that there was no sound. Nothing, not even white noise greeted his awakening. He curiously didn’t have a headache either. Having spent six months slowly going out of control, to wake up to total silence without the aid of a zone was... odd. Jim blinked, attempting to gauge his surroundings and found himself in total darkness, with his eyes wide open.

 

‘Curioser and curioser thought Alice.’ He thought to himself. Here he was in total silence, in total darkness. He moved a hand and felt something soft clinging to the thin hairs on his skin. He was *in* something that was just the right temperature to not make a difference to his sense of touch.

 

Touch, sight, sound... Jim trembled with concern as he closed his eyes against the darkness and tried to visualize his dials. They all appeared to be spinning freely, nothing sluggish. With a flicker of thought, he worked on bringing up sight. Opening his eyes, if he tried really hard, he could barely make out a small glimmer of light. The darkness was not total.

 

Next was sound, and this time he really tried hard. Beyond his... prison? He could hear machinery and the liquid that he was surrounded in sloshed about him briefly. Liquid... he nudged up touch and caught the softness surrounding him. Pushing smell brought the scent of saline to him, but nothing else... absolutely nothing, not even sweat or bodily waste. Either he had not been put here long... but then touch reported other more uncomfortable implements within him, under his skin and other... places. Catheter and I. V.

 

So he was still in a hospital, but he had been placed somewhere that his body wasn’t being bombarded by everything anymore. Moving his tongue he hit a tube that was just put inside his lips. With an experimental suck, he got clear clean water. He was being cared for by someone who understood his abilities enough to know that he needed freshness to keep him alive. It was most unnerving though, not knowing who was caring for him.

 

As if his thoughts could be heard, a light from outside of his... well it had to be a deprivation tank, didn’t it? The light outside began to rise slowly, steadily as he watched, his dials adjusting to the added stimuli as naturally as breathing. And that was another odd shock. He had complete or nearly complete control of his senses and their corresponding dials. What this meant, he didn’t know. But he felt, if he closed his eyes and just tried hard, he could *feel* Blair, but that was impossible.

 

As he snorted to himself, the temperature in the tank began to lower just a bit, to a comfortable level for hospitals. Extending his hearing again, he heard what appeared to be exclamations of surprise. This could mean that this life saving measure had not been expected to work. Jim felt pretty pleased with the results so far. As he concentrated further, he could understand the words more.

 

*”He’s waking up. Call in Lady Dawn! Where is Dr. Sheld?”* This then would be the nurses attending him. And perhaps this tank was on some sort of timer? Or more likely was tuned in to his sleep patterns and programmed to notify the nurses on watch when a patient awakened before they were expecting it. Well, he was always known to be a fast healer!

 

A vibration of the water alerted him to the possibility of the tank being opened, and he had a moment or two of panic. His mind ran the gamut of emotions from elation to concern to nervousness to abject fear. These people were not from his hospital. He didn’t know a Dr. Sheld, or a Lady Dawn. And he couldn’t hear Simon, or his father, or brother outside waiting for word of him. None of his family, none of his friends. Had he been kidnapped? Did some rogue agency have him now, intent on studying him now that they didn’t have to fight with Sandburg for the chance?

 

Scanning around himself he noticed the tube that fed him water and spat it out. He also found a tube as for oxygen hooked around his nose but he couldn’t move that. If he was going to be in some place he didn’t want to be, he wanted to make damn sure he wasn’t being handicapped. He felt nothing in his ears to cut sound, for this he was grateful. The voices outside were getting louder and, with a startling lurch, the tank tipped upright to place him nearly on his feet, the water draining out through vents below.

 

He’d been in deprivation tanks before. When his senses went out of control and he was too tired to get it right, Blair had taken him to a lab out in the middle of the Cascade forest where a friend monitored all the tanks down there. Blair would set him up and Jim would spend eight blessed hours in total space, floating in next to nothing, hearing nothing and seeing nothing. But those tanks were stationary, the machinery working them larger and not so maneuverable. This tank was lighter, smaller, and obviously had different capabilities.

 

One of those capabilities gave him a chance to balance himself before the door was to be opened. He heard people milling about more and more as the capsule he was trapped in warmed to a comfortable temperature. Even more, the temperature was joined with an increase in air that appeared to be drying his skin and hair effortlessly. With a wry grin, he glanced down at himself in the brighter light and saw that he was wearing nothing. No big deal for him, he was not uncomfortable in his own skin. If his ‘hosts’ were hoping to catch him off guard, they would be sorely disappointed.

 

Jim could only assume that they were ready to open the capsule and let him out when he heard two new voices added to the cacophony of sounds surrounding him. He braced himself for the changing of air pressure that would come with the opening of the door, and was already moving when the first click sounded. His arms moved, or they would have if he could have actually lifted the weight. A moment of confusion gave his ‘hosts’ a chance to open the door fully and expose him to the outside air. It was unlike what was already in the capsule, so it was clear that they had been working to bring his own temperature closer to the outside world. Rather conscientious of them.

 

It still didn’t help with his numbness. His hands and feet were barely tingling. He felt helpless as the first person outside stepped into his view. It was an older gentleman with snow white hair and wearing a white coat that Jim could only assume was a lab coat. A Doctor then, quite possibly the Dr. Sheld who was mentioned earlier. The man’s deeper, gravelly voice gave his grandfatherly appearance more feeling as he spoke, “Good to see you awake, Sentinel.”

 

Jim tensed. This was not good after all. They knew about his abilities and they were expecting him to use them. Experimenting with his mouth, throat and voice, he replied carefully, “What’s a Sentinel?”

 

The doctor canted his head to the side, watching him for a moment before glancing back at another person. A dark haired Asian beauty came into view and glared hard at him. He made no move against them, didn’t say anything more. Let them come to him, he had time. He felt a shiver rush up his spine as she broke out in a chilling smile, “Hello, Jim. How do you feel?”

 

This was different. She was immediately attempting to be his friend. Like that was going to work. Jim shrugged carefully before replying, “I can’t move my arms.”

 

The doctor frowned, “Too long without movement. We tried to keep him from becoming too sedentary, but it is rather difficult when you are attempting to cut harmful stimuli.”

 

The Asian nodded as if with complete understanding. “We need a Physical Therapy regime for him while we travel the last leg of the journey,” she explained to the doctor. To Jim she said, “I can either assign someone to help you regain your full range of mobility and regular muscle tone, or I can help you myself."

 

Jim eyed her suspiciously. "Why? What are you going to get out of it?"

 

Now she was the one frowning, her and the doctor. They exchanged a speaking look and then she turned back to him, "What do you mean 'What am I going to get out of it?’ I think what I get should be obvious - your returned health."

 

"And why would that be important to you?"

 

Again the frown, only this time no looking elsewhere. “Because, you are the only one able to do what you do.”

 

Jim smirked, “What I do?”

 

The Asian crossed her arms and stared hard back at him. “Look, we can go round and round about this, but the fact of the matter is you and I have a mutual friend in a great deal of danger unless I can get you back on your feet and back into the place of protection you were in before.”

 

Jim sighed and rolled his eyes, “Look, lady, you aren’t exactly giving me an overwhelming need to do anything to help you.”

 

The Asian frowned deeper, the words he spat out appearing to roll her back on her heels just a bit. She paced before the capsule a moment, first one way, then the other. Jim remained as impassive as he could as she jerked her head his direction a few times. Finally she stopped and pivoted to face him. “Fine, if you don’t want to help Blair, I guess I’ll have to do it on my own. Let me know if you change your mind.”

 

And she was gone, spinning on her heel and headed out the sliding door across the room. Jim blinked again. He hadn’t been expecting her to react in quite that fashion. He glanced at the doctor, who shrugged and sighed. The door sliding back open made the doctor jump. Jim tried not to grin when the woman returned, this time with a look of chagrin. “Okay, that did not come out right, let me try again. I’m Glorious Dawn. You are Jim Ellison. I am not CIA, FBI, NSA, or any other alphabet soup organization out to snatch you off the face of the Earth in an attempt to brainwash, torture, or dissect you for scientific purposes.”

 

Jim waited for the other shoe to drop. The woman nodded once and continued, “I do need you for an important mission, one that you have already proven yourself well equipped for in the past.”

 

Jim squinted at her, “You mentioned Blair. Unless you plan to tell me different, Blair is dead.”

 

The woman snorted haughtily, “Please, you know that is false as much as I do. You saw him alive in the hospital.”

 

Jim glared back just as hard, “Then where is his body, can you tell me that?”

 

The woman’s lips spread into a wide grin, “It would be my pleasure.”


	4. Chapter 4

Glorious didn’t mean to tease Jim the way she was, but she had to admit a certain amount of enjoyment at ruffling his feathers a bit. It was so hard to do when the man exuded calm and serenity. If she didn’t know better she would have said that nothing could faze him. But it seemed that, just like her, Jim was a person with one thing of importance on his mind. Blair Sandburg’s health and well-being.

 

So first and foremost, she needed Jim to be well and up to par. And judging by the slow movements Jim was making while dressing, he was in need of some help in that area. With a casual sigh she came back to the previous question, “So, you want to try and get back in shape on your own? Or am I helping you?”

 

Jim tossed a glance her direction as he settled into the chair designed to convey patients around on the ship. He had yet to ask where he was and Glorious was looking forward to telling him. She had made a bet with her assistant, Morse, that Jim wouldn’t so much as blink at the truth given. She was dragged back from her thoughts by Jim answering, “You, if you have the time.”

 

She smiled as she led the way to a cabin that was spacious enough to do work outs in while staying out of the way of the crew. Jim’s eyes widened at the surroundings before drawing down into a tight frown. Any minute now she figured he would start asking questions. She was not disappointed, although the first words were not exactly what she expected, “Just how far from Earth are we?”

 

Glorious blinked. “What makes you think—“

 

“I can hear the engines in this thing, and they aren’t normal engine sounds. There is no sound of water against a hull, and I feel no rocking as if on waves. I *do* feel the pressure of what I can only imagine is artificial gravity, and my stomach keeps wanting to turn into knots. I can deal with that last once I have some food in me.” Jim finished with a snap before turning to press his hands against a nearby wall. “There is no warmth in the walls; most stable buildings would have some residual warmth from human beings. The cold of space could be affecting the temperature of the walls this way. Therefore, with all those signs and clues as evidence, I ask again... How far from Earth are we?”

 

Glorious smiled. Yes, this is very much what she expected from the Sentinel. Reaching out a hand, she steadied the man until he was sitting on the edge of the nearby bed. “You’re right. This is not a regular ship. Are you sure you want to hear—“

 

“How far?” he reminded forcefully. Glorious sighed.

 

“30 billion light years? We still have a few days left before we reach our destination.” Bustling around the spacious cabin, she called up for food and tried to figure out what to explain first. Figuring it would be best to answer questions as they came, she glanced at Jim and waited. He didn’t hold back then.

 

“I take it your planet is very well advanced?” he sighed as he asked, resigned to the science fiction that his life had become. She felt for him.

 

“Our civilization is a couple hundred years past Earth’s. Our technology is about as advanced.”

 

Jim nodded as if this was expected. “You have Sandburg, right? Why?”

 

Glorious suddenly felt the ceiling was an interesting feature to examine. How to explain to the man that his friend was the last surviving monarch for her entire planet? “Well, um... to save his life and bring him home.”

 

Jim raised a brow at that. She understood his disbelief. But he was not exactly normal himself, was he? He obviously understood as he carried on moments later.

 

“What were those things in the rain?”

 

Glorious swallowed deeply. She hated those things, nightmares made flesh. They were often used as boogiemen for the children of her planet. “Chameleons. Amphibious/reptilian like people who can take on the visage of humans to blend in with the crowd. As long as they keep their mouths shut you can’t tell the difference until they strike.”

 

“I could,” interrupted Jim. Glorious nodded.

 

“Yes, Jim. You could,” she replied. Jim watched her a moment, then must have come to some sort of conclusion in his own mind because he switched gears again.

 

“Where is Blair now?”

 

“We have him safe on a medical ship orbiting our planet.” Glorious heard the ping of the door announcing that food had arrived and went to retrieve the tray from the attendant. Jim remained on the edge of the bed, eyes tracking her. “The truth is, we need Blair on our planet... his planet.”

 

“What planet? And why him specifically?”

 

She handed off a sandwich to him before taking one of her own and sitting in the chair across the way from him, facing him. “The planet is called Zodiac. It is roughly 32 billion light years from Earth, about the size of Jupiter with a populated area the size of Eurasia.”

 

“Of course it is,” Jim muttered to himself. Glorious tried hard not to laugh. Instead she concentrated on the last question.

 

“Blair is important to us, to our planet. His father was the Ministry Advisor to the King. He was also the King’s brother.” Glorious was finding it hard to simply blurt these things out, to explain Blair’s importance in such a way as to actually be believed. “You see, we’ve been at war with those... things, for a long time now. And within the last year we have suffered a devastating blow to the royal family ties.”

 

Jim canted his head to the side. “Um, what kind of devastation?”

 

Glorious sighed, “An explosion on the planet that took out 90% of the Senate Counsel and the entire Royal family on planet, including Aunts, Uncles, Brothers and Sisters, Cousins... the works. At the same time, all the off world illegitimates were assassinated, as well as their mothers and any remaining Guards protecting them.”

 

Jim sat frozen. His face took on an expression of complete and utter shock at the news. Glorious waited for him to make eye contact with her once more before adding, “And Blair is the only one left alive.”

 

o-O-o

 

Jim blinked. For a few minutes that was all he could bring himself to do. An entire family wiped out by an alien attack? And how did Blair fit in with all of this? Did he know about his father and was just yanking Jim’s chain all these years? “Blair said that Naomi didn’t know who his father was.”

 

Glorious shrugged, “What she told him about his father was none of my concern. I grew up with the boy, I didn’t know either until I was 12.”

 

“You knew Blair from before?” Jim felt excitement; maybe he could learn more about his partner from this woman. Then he remembered, his friend was still alive. His excitement grew. “How is he? How long until we can get to where he is?”

 

She smiled, “Not long. Another three days, I promise. We have FTL travel, so it will be next to nothing to get there.”

 

Jim nodded, but something was still tugging the back of his mind, “You said he’s on a medical ship? How safe is it?”

 

Glorious nodded as if she was expecting this line of questions. “The Medical Transport, Hippocrates, is the first of her line. She’s been in service for 83 years and has been in the war for 70 of those years. She’s been in the repair bay twice, once for a heating problem in the cabins and once because of a malfunctioning engine coolant system. Neither repair was serious and she was underway again within days. She’s a sturdy ship, Jim.”

 

“What about weapons? Protection?” Jim slipped into military security mode without a seconds thought. Glorious appeared to understand the need as she answered without hesitation.

 

“Six Nereid class fighters remain at the transports side at all times.”

 

Jim frowned, he didn’t know what that meant. “Nereid?”

Glorious paused, and then explained, “The Nereids, daughters of Nereus and Doris, fifty in number. They are named in honor of their father. All of them lovely, they are the nymphs of the sea.”

 

Jim raised a brow and waited for the other half of the explanation. He was not disappointed.

 

“We call them Nereids because of their lithe maneuverability. They flit back and forth as effortlessly as breathing. And they are unmanned, so there is no need to lose a life. The Nereids pilots remain on a separate command ship out of the battle zones.” Glorious finished her mini lecture with a smile that Jim felt inclined to return. Yes these people were way more advanced than his people. He remembered the scuttlebutt on possibly unmanned drones in war, but not an unmanned fighter.

 

“So he’s safe where he is?” Always the protector, Blair had gotten it right long ago. Jim finished his sandwich and relaxed against the hull of the ‘ship’, only to lean forward again as soon as he felt the chill. Glorious gazed back with sympathy in her eyes. Setting her plate down, she opened a cabinet and removed a blanket that she draped over his shoulders.

 

“He is for now, and I hope to get us there before they wake him up.” She sat on the bed beside him to offer more warmth. He knew he was cold because of the loss of body fat and muscle. It was something that he would have to work at soon.

 

“He’s asleep?” he asked, trying to take attention off of his shivering.

 

“Medical induced coma while the nanites heal his body.” Glorious replied without thought. Jim’s head began to swim as thoughts of little machines working on his friend’s body flitted through his mind. That brought to mind the memory of Blair’s twisted body and Jim swallowed hard. He couldn’t afford to lose his lunch right now.

 

Memories of the night he lost, almost lost, Blair had become Jim’s worst nightmare as he had slipped from spiking senses to zoning, to a coma that threatened to take his very life had he not already been in a hospice. Nothing, though, could have been worse than knowing that his partner, his friend, his companion was hurt, missing and possibly dead. Even now he could remember the feel of the rain as it poured down, the smell of the blood gushing from the myriad of wounds on Sandburg’s body, the sounds of... hissing, clicking, something that wasn’t normal.

 

*Sandburg finished cuffing the last suspect and turned the man over to pull him to his feet. Shoving him against the wall with the other kiddy-porn club members, he snarled loudly as he headed over to where Jim was on the phone with Simon.*

 

*”Yeah, Simon, we got them all. Rafe and Brown are unhurt; Sanchez got nicked on the chin when he was tripped by a guy trying to run. Yeah, if you can send another couple of units out to pick these scumbags up, we’d appreciate it. Yes, sir, I’ll tell him.” He had hung up immediately afterwards and turned to his young partner. “Simon says the beers are on him at Sammie’s tonight.”*

 

*Sandburg smiled blindingly, “Sounds like a plan to me, man. When can we get out of here?”*

 

*”Just as soon as the extra units take these guys out of here. Do me a favor and get the first aid kit out of the truck, I want to clean Sanchez up a bit. I don’t think he needs an ambulance for a band-aid.” Jim chuckled while Sanchez tossed out a rude gesture. Sandburg chuckled as he headed out the entrance they had used to come in, and began his trek across the back lot in the rain. Jim watched him go, scratching the back of his neck in an unconscious gesture.*

 

*He felt the shift in his senses moments before the first scream. He was out the door before it died and was halfway across the lot, his sight sharpening and struggling to focus against the rain. Up ahead he could make out the still form of his partner laid out on the ground. Something shimmered over him, a hunched form that appeared to be striking Blair’s chest over and over again. Jim let out a bloodcurdling yell and launched himself at the ‘thing’, taking it off the ground and rolling across the lot with it. He felt a stab or two, and what felt like teeth being applied to his arms, hands and throat. He still couldn’t exactly ‘see’ the thing he had, but he could feel it, and smell it.*

 

*Struggling to get his hands around what he believed was its throat; he wrenched and felt a snap. Instead of dying, the thing left him instantly and he found himself holding a long, spindly... something. He didn’t take time to examine the bit of slimy flesh and bone, tossing it away in a hurry and scrambling to get to Blair’s side. Blair was struggling to breathe, coughing up blood from his mouth, gaping wide-eyed at the sky. Jim grabbed hold of him, trying to find where the wounds could be plugged.*

 

*”Come on, kid, hang on. Just hang on! Sanchez! Rafe get an ambulance!” Jim held as tightly to Blair as he dared, crooning over and over to stay with him, stay here, just a little longer...*

 

“You remember that night, don’t you?” Glorious’ soft voice brought Jim back to the present and he nodded automatically.

 

“Easily the worst night of my life. After the attack on him in the rain, we got him to the hospital. That’s the last I saw of him.” Jim sighed and looked around, eyes blinking slowly. “And now I’m here, in space, and going to meet him. And you say he’s alive. After that night, I never thought I would see him again.”

 

Glorious wrapped and arm around his shoulders and squeezed gently. “Three more days, Jim. I promise.”

 

He looked at her, “I’m holding you to that.”

 

“You have my word,” she replied solemnly.


	5. Chapter 5

Three days seemed to go on for years, and still Jim watched out the window as space went by. He had begun his workouts to regain his muscle tone, with Gloria’s help. And he had begun to learn a little something about the man named Blair Sandburg, stuff that even Blair knew nothing about.

 

Such as the fact that it was Jacob, Blair’s father, who had given Blair his first taste of Sentinel fever. He’d left a copy of the ‘Sentinels of Paraguay’ monograph for Blair to find when he was 12, right before Gloria had been brought back to Zodiac for additional training. It was all downhill from there.

 

And Naomi had told Blair that she didn’t know about Jacob, but judging from the young man’s middle name, she was aware of her child’s parentage, and had no doubt found it necessary to keep that part of his life a secret, even from him. Gloria had explained that Jacob had been taken back to Zodiac before Blair’s birth, to be sworn in as Ministry advisor for his brother, and would never have been able to set foot on Earth again in this lifetime. So what Blair never knew about, he could never want. It had certainly seemed to work, until now.

 

Now, watching the stars flit by, Jim wondered how he was going to tell his partner that, not only did he know who the young man’s father truly was, the man was dead. All these years Blair had imagined who his father could be. Jim remembered some of the better musings from before and grinned to himself. Timothy Leary, as if. Although some might have thought Leary a little ‘out there’ at times, seems he wasn't near as far as needed to be anywhere near the truth.

 

And to have a parent who is an alien, means that Blair was half alien. It explained a lot of his brain power, if Gloria’s history lessons on Zodiac and their war were to be believed. But then, why would she lie? And he would have been able to tell with his senses if she had.

 

That was another thing to think about. His senses appeared to be under control again. In fact, the closer they came to Zodiac, the better, sharper, his senses became. As if being that much closer to his friend was helping. Dr. Sheld checked on him almost hourly and appeared excited over the prospect of the connection between Jim and Blair, Sentinel and Companion, or ‘Guide’ as Brackett once termed it. Jim was only happy the damn things were working like they were supposed to. But it reminded Jim of the vision he had back when Alex had attacked them, and he had to wonder if there had been more to what Blair was saying about taking ‘that’ journey.

 

If they had actually taken the journey together to its completion, would Jim have been able to see the attack from the Chameleons ahead of time? Maybe even soon enough to have stopped it? Had he already seen it in some way and had simply dismissed it as a dream? Had he missed some sort of sign?

 

*”Not your fault, man...”* Blair had said as Jim clutched at him, trying to hold him together in the pouring rain. And he was right; none of this was Jim’s fault any more than it was Blair’s or Gloria’s. It had not even passed through the Zodian’s minds that the Chameleon’s would try something so coordinated, so prepared. It was not their usual MO at all according to Gloria and the Captain of the ship he was on now, the Mercury. Captain Thorn had been so angered by the attack that he had asked personally to be on the team to bring Blair back from Earth. He had been denied, and it was a good thing as Blair had needed more intensive care than the Mercury was equipped for. But she served well in bringing Jim this far.

 

“We should be able to see Hippocrates within minutes,” Gloria’s voice came out of nowhere and settled at his right shoulder. He glanced to meet her eyes and smiled. She had been such a help in the last few days, working with Jim to become more fit, telling him as much about Zodiac as she felt he would understand, and keeping him informed on what was happening ahead of them. He had started calling her by the shortened name after the first day of meeting her at her request. As a child she had used this shorter name in school and it was one that Blair knew as well. For Jim it was just easier to remember. And lord knew that was something he needed at this point in time.

 

“Have they woke him yet?” he asked. This had been a concern of Gloria’s ever since she had picked Jim up from Earth. She wanted Jim there to help Blair with the transition. Someone familiar and known to be safe.

 

“Last report was that he was still asleep,” she replied. “Thorn says we should be in range in about ten minutes.”

 

Jim nodded once before turning from the window and following her through the hallways towards the bridge. Thorn sitting the command chair reminded Jim of Captain Kirk on Star Trek. He smothered a grin as he turned his attention to the screen that the Captain appeared glued to.

 

On the screen was a view of space, and a huge planet. This had to be Zodiac, and Jim could see that it was quite beautiful, much like earth.

 

“Magnify and sharpen. Show me the Hippocrates,” commanded Thorn. The screen flickered and was replaced by a sleek ship, silver in color. It looked huge. Smaller silver dots flitted around it in an erratic pattern. Jim imagined these were the Nereid class fighters that Gloria told him about. Looking closer, Jim noticed something else unusual.

 

“Thorn, what is that?” he asked, not realizing that they couldn’t see what he could see. Thorn sat forward in his seat and tried to find the spot that Jim pointed to. A helpful technician noticed where the focus had shifted to and magnified that spot. As it came into focus Jim blinked and looked again. Yes, there was something there. Shimmering, almost as if the stars were moving. The stars... moving, shifting, reshaping, refocusing, unfocusing... a touch to his arm snapped him back into the room and he blinked. Ducking his head he blushed. “Damnit, you caught me.”

 

Gloria smirked and patted him on the arm. “Not a big deal Jim. What did you see?”

 

Jim glanced back at the screen, hanging on to Gloria’s arm as an added texture to focus on while he looked at the Alien ship again. And this time, he could see the outline. “Chameleon vessel. It’s right there Thorn.”

 

He glanced at Thorn, who hesitated, trying to see what Jim saw. Jim reached out and dragged the man closer, “It’s there, Marcus, believe in me.”

 

Thorn made no further attempts, “Sound general quarters! Bring us around on that sector.” He locked eyes on Jim and nodded once. Jim released him and went where Gloria tugged him to, allowing himself to be led down the corridor away from the bridge. Klaxons sounded while Thorn’s voice reached them over the loud speakers. “Take a flitter, get to the Hippocrates. I’ll get these bastards out of the way.”

 

Gloria was running down the corridor, checking over her shoulder every so often to be sure Jim was behind her. He followed her to what he believed to be the hanger bay and into an unusual ship opened in the front with a seat far in the back. Gloria spun him into the seat and, once his ass was planted, another sprouted from the floor for Gloria to land in before the two halves of the ship came together into a seamless windscreen.

 

Jim hardly had time to admire the beauty of the flitter before they were hurtling out of the Mercury and starting a course for the Medical Transport. Then he could only see the stars. His stomach almost leapt into his throat as Gloria sharply turned left, right and center as the laser bolts began to fly. Obviously Thorn had found the Chameleon ship.

 

“I hope you know how to fly this thing in a fire fight!” he growled. Gloria’s laughter floated back to him.

 

“You think I’m going to get you killed?”

 

Jim rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, “I just want to have a chance to see Blair alive one more time before I die.”

 

Gloria couldn’t hear him, for which he was glad, and carried on the operating of the flitter, flying them ever closer to the Hippocrates. Over the communications device, Jim could hear little static and clear voices calling instructions to Gloria. *”Flitter one, this is Hippocrates, we have an emergency!”*

 

“Speak to me!” she snapped. Jim’s agitation ratcheted up another notch.

 

*”He’s out of stasis.”*

 

o-O-o

 

It took him three minutes from the moment he opened his eyes to realize that he was not in a normal hospital. It took another two minutes for him to work out that he was in a very private facility. The walls around him were a soft beige and the bed he had been laid in was large, easily a queen size. The sheets and cover were soft and warm, nothing like a regular hospital with their cold sterile walls and thin bedding.

 

Sitting up, Blair looked around the room and noticed the large double doors that led to another room. It seemed like a reasonable direction to start with. If the doors weren't locked. Standing, he found that he was not tired, had full range of motion and could handle his own weight without a fight. He also found that the doors were not locked.

 

Opening the doors actually exited him out into a sitting room that was decorated for comfort more than style. It was at once inviting and relaxing. He walked out into the room and looked around for someone. Another door opening from the other side of the room caught him in the act of looking for a call button and he was confronted with a woman wearing white who he could obviously see was a nurse. With her was someone he assumed was an orderly and a... guard?

 

"Uh, hi. Can I see a doctor?" Blair asked as the Nurse bustled in with a smile on her face. The orderly remained straight-faced and the Guard stood by the door with authority.

 

"Oh of course, sir. But first we need to get you back in bed. You've only been out of stasis for a few minutes and the Doctor is not here yet." The Nurse held out a hand to usher Blair back into the other room and normally he would have balked at her calm nature, but he didn't feel threatened. He felt, instead, as if something was wrong in the room. He glanced at the Guard first, then the orderly.

 

Neither man moved, but Blair had the overwhelming feeling that something was about to happen. He was almost afraid to turn his back on the two men by the door and tried to step backwards in an effort to watch them as he moved back to the door. The nurse grabbed on to his arm but he didn't feel right about it. He stared at the orderly and waited, almost as if he had to watch out for this guy.

 

The Guard stepped forward with a smile and a friendly hand out to Blair, urging him to go with the pretty nurse and Blair looked away for an instant. That was all it took for chaos to erupt. The Guard, and Blair wished he had gotten the guy's name, was dead instantly with what looked to be a black claw sticking out through his chest. Blair stared at the scene incredulously while the nurse behind him screamed.

 

The creature was tall and black, it had a hard shell covering most of its body. Blair could call it a beetle or something to that effect, but really there were a few extra things and a few missing things to match that description. But it was ugly and shiny and it had a claw in the guy's chest and it was coming after Blair!

 

He didn't think; he reacted. He didn't move so much as glide down to the ground by the Guard, snapped up what looked like a wicked weapon, aimed and fired three times straight into the things face. Instead of bullets coming out of the barrel it was a sonic pulse that slammed into the thing not once, but three times. The thing screamed and turned away leaving a startled Blair and a hysterical nurse in its wake.

 

o-O-o

 

The moment the Flitter had settled in the hanger bay Gloria opened the doors and she and Jim poured out at a dead run. The corridors glowed red and klaxons sounded up and down the ship. People milled around at a fast pace past them as Gloria led the way down one hallway after another. Jim struggled to keep up and was caught in a cross corridor when a black thing streamed across the ceiling from his right and back down his left side away from him.

 

"Gloria!" Jim felt torn as to which direction to go. The screaming of a woman came from his right and he imagined that was where the thing had come from. It could also have been after Blair. Gloria spun back around and arrived at his side, looked both ways, saw the creature and motioned behind her in the opposite direction.

 

"I've got this! Go get Blair!" She screamed as she took off after the creature. Jim never hesitated as he turned and headed back towards the screaming.

 

o-O-o

 

Gloria raced down the corridors after the Chameleon. She didn't know where it had come from but she could tell it was trying to get to the engine room and most likely its escape route off the ship. Gloria was not about to allow that to happen. Pulling a thin cylinder from her jacket, she turned down the last corridor to the engine room and snapped a button on the cylinder, pointing it away from her body to keep from being perforated by the beam of light that slid from it like a lightsaber.

 

The Chameleon slid into the engine room and Gloria was right behind it. She slashed upwards with her blade and cut into one of its arms, which dropped off to the side. Then she spun around to take her second slice at its torso. She whittled down the creature until she had its head severed from its body and it screamed in indignity. Gloria stared down at the head of her enemy and grinned menacingly down at it. "No, I will not kill you. You have many questions to answer."

 

The sound that came from the head seemed to be chiding her for a moment and she glared at it again. "And threatening me with the death of my family? Really hate to break it to you but they are already dead."

 

It spit out another stream of gibberish which caused her to grin. "Ah so you have meet our Illustrious Sovereign. More than you bargained for I take it? I'll have to be sure to send your remains back to your people with a message of your defeat. Perhaps I will leave you alive to face their wrath."

 

And with that, Gloria turned around and left the thing for the guards to collect.

 

o-O-o

 

Trusting that Gloria could handle herself against the Chameleon, Jim focused his attention on his friend and headed up the corridor until he reached the open doorway at the end. Looking around he found Blair sitting on the floor and holding a young woman in his arms. Jim skidded to a halt and took a good look at the scene before him. His first thought was to snap a quip about Blair always getting the best nurses in hospitals. But that thought quickly gave way in the face of the last nine months or so.

 

"Hey Chief. Long time no see."

 

Blair snapped his gaze around to focus on Jim and he saw the relief lighten his expressive face. "Jim! You're here!"

 

The nurse shoved Blair gently towards Jim, a message that she would be fine for a bit. Blair took the hint and launched himself from the floor and into Jim's arms for a strong bearhug. Jim held on tightly, god he had missed this. He hated to pull away but Blair appeared determined to do so as he began to ask questions.

 

"Man where are we? Are you okay? Did you SEE that thing? It was *huge* and ugly! I mean I thought at first that we were in some spook hospital, but that thing is so *totally* not from earth. But then where are we?" Blair paused and Jim just smiled. He was not going to get much explanation into this conversation with Blair hopped up on adrenaline as he was right now. He wondered about the weapon in his partner's hand and about the nurse sitting on the floor, but then Blair was off again.

 

"Jim what happened? How did we get... here? And where is here? Can we trust these people?" Blair looked around himself with concern and Jim quickly worked to reassure him.

 

"Blair, hey hang on. Calm down." With one hand Jim soothed his friend by stroking his curly hair and then drew him back into his arms. "Easy Chief. No need to get excited."

 

"Yeah, but Jim I feel as if something's been missing for a while. Like we've been separated for too long." Blair glanced around himself once again. His breathing was faltering and his babbling was beginning to slow. Jim recognized these signs as the beginning of one of Blair's panic attacks and was about to suggest his friend be put back to bed when he heard a sound at the doorway behind him.

 

Gloria swept in just in time as Blair took one look at her and said, "Gigi! What are you doing here?"

 

Gloria looked at Blair, then back at Jim and grinned. "Oh I bet this is some story," she replied as the nurse behind Blair jabbed a device against his arm that emitted a hissing sound. Blair passed out in Jim's arms and Gloria rushed in to help him pick up the dead weight and carry the young man back to the bedroom. The nurse helped them tuck Blair into bed before slipping out into the main room again.

 

"I hope you got that thing before it could escape and tell them about Blair." Jim said as Gloria stripped off her gloves and flounced down onto the soft sofa.

 

"Of course I did. And I kept enough of it to interrogate later. Those things are as resilient as cockroaches. You only need to keep its head to learn lots of information." Gloria grinned. Jim didn't know if she was making a joke or not but he really didn't care as long as the enemy was still unaware of Blair's health.

 

"Good, then we are still on course for going down to Zodiac in two days?"

 

Gloria nodded, "As soon as Captain Thorn brings the Mercury close enough to transfer Dr. Sheld and he has given Blair a clean bill of health, we go to the Capital City."


	6. Chapter 6

He woke again in the same bed, but with a major difference. He was sleeping with Jim. This wasn't unusual at all, he and Jim had shared sleeping arrangements when they went camping, or when his mother had come for a visit. It felt nice to have this reminder of their relationship. It had taken them four years to get to the point where their relationship was rock solid, and this was the result.

 

Sitting up in the bed, Blair looked around to get a better feel of where they were situated, and notice the small door off to his left. Positing that since the double doors were to the same sitting room, Blair crawled out of the bed and made his way to what he supposed was the bathroom. It didn't exactly *look* like a regular bathroom. No separate shower or toilet. Just one large unit that, after reading the buttons and with some trepidation, he picked a refreshing sequence and the unit did several things at once. In the end Blair decided that the first thing he wanted when he got on a planet was a proper bath, or at least instructions to this crazy contraption!

 

He exited the unit and found some clothing left on a shelf just outside. These he put on and made his way into the main sitting room. Since the attack Blair noticed that the body of the guard was gone. He really needed to know the name of that guy. He also noticed that there was no blood or anything on the floor. In a way this was comforting, knowing that he didn't have that reminder of death to look at. Taking a moment to really look around Blair figured that he would starve before he figured out where any communications devices.

 

He was saved from embarrassment when the door rang. He assumed it was the door as it was the same portal that the nurse and guard had come through the day before. He walked over to it, unsure if he should wake Jim or not. He didn't know of any spook facility or faction who rang doorbells of their prisoners' cells before so maybe it was safe. He didn't have much more of a choice as he stepped in full view of the portal and it opened before him to reveal an older gentlemen with silvered hair and facial hair, wearing a long black robe that had only a gold insignia over the left side of his chest.

 

"Ah, Sir. A pleasure to finally meet you. Might I come in so that we can get to work on some of the major decisions before we land on Zodiac tomorrow." The man pushed his way in gently and found a seat on one of the comfortable couches. Blair stood gape-faced at the door wondering just what the hell this guy was on.

 

"Um... hi, I uh..." so he didn't have anything witty to say, and he was totally confused as to what he was supposed to do now. Thankfully he didn't have to as Jim strode out of the bedroom with single-minded purpose in his step.

 

"Chief, you alright?" The big man asked as he walked over to where Blair was still standing with the portal open. It was only then that Blair realized his risk and moved to the other side of the room. Jim shadowed him and watched the man on the couch. "Can we help you?"

 

The stranger canted his head to the side and must have come to some conclusion by the expression on his face. "I am Councilman Lucious Cole. I believe I've heard of you, Sir Ellison?"

 

Jim nodded which further confused Blair. It was an odd expression to use, but so was the entire situation. But Jim was comfortable in conversing with the man and Blair was more than happy to let him. Councilman Cole continued, "And Lady Dawn's mission was to return to Earth to investigate your involvement with His Majesty--"

 

Jim held up a hand, "There I'm gonna stop you, sir. You are a bit early and after the attack yesterday I'm going to need a bit more time. He hasn't been told."

 

Cole blinked. "He hasn't? Oh dear, this is not good."

 

Jim smiled, "Give us a couple of hours to explain and answer his questions and Gloria will get you whatever information you need. Would that be good?"

 

Blair watched the back and forth with interest. Jim seemed to know what was going on, which was comforting. And Cole seemed to be taking this all in stride. This told Blair two things. One, Jim had been awake longer than Blair had been, which fit if Blair had been in a coma for a long time. And two, they had not been kidnapped. This situation was perfectly acceptable to Jim, the Sentinel, the Detective, the Tribal Guardian, and therefore it could be accepted by Blair. He relaxed into the couch he had taken as a seat and sighed. He had a lot of questions he intended to ask when this guy left. He only hoped that Jim was ready to answer them.

 

Obviously Jim had some pull with these people because Cole took his explanation as gospel and left, telling Jim that he would keep in touch with 'Lady Dawn' and that he apologized for any inconvenience. Blair sat numb founded for a moment before he had words he could squeeze out. "Jim, what the hell is that all about?"

 

Jim sighed and seemed to collapse into himself for a moment. Then he collected himself and drew himself up tall again before he turned to Blair with a smile meant to reassure and calm him. Blair let it do just that as Jim came to sit next to him. Blair again got that odd feeling that he had been too far away from Jim for too long. Blair leaned into his friend and, just as he hoped, Jim wrapped an arm around his shoulders. After a moment, Jim turned his head and kissed Blair's curls. "I never thought I would see you again."

 

"Why? Where did you go?" Blair figured if he was in the hospital for a while that it was Jim who had left for some reason. He was surprised to find himself wrong.

 

"I didn't go anywhere Blair. It was you who've been on a long trip. A 9 month long trip, to be precise." Jim shifted until he had Blair practically in his lap. This was when Jim was going to lay it all out on the line and Blair was going to be put out of sorts. "That night in the rain. You were attacked by something, do you remember?"

 

Blair remembered, "Claws, screeching sounds, I was stabbed."

 

"Forty-two times in the chest, neck and stomach. I managed to get the thing off of you and we got you to the hospital. We didn't know there was more than one, or what they were capable of." Jim clutched tightly to Blair and he began to understand Jim's fears. He had been stabbed and near death. Then how was he alive?

 

"I'm here. You're here. Explain that to me?" He wanted to keep things clear as he sorted it all out, and simple questions were often the way to go. Jim grinned as he did as asked with one name.

 

"Glorious Dawn."

 

Blair remembered Glorious Dawn. Asian beauty, best friend as he was growing up and true ally in the search for mysteries and mythologies of the world. They had known each other since birth and had been raised together for many years. Gigi was fiercely loyal to Blair and was always watching over him. In school Blair never had to worry about bullies because they were all afraid to get on Gigi's bad side.

 

He also remembered that Gigi disappeared at the age of 12. Her parents had said they had to return home, but Blair never knew where that was. Naomi had said it was a long way from here, but even through all of their travelling since then he never could figure out how far was a long way to Naomi. He let it go after he began his time at Rainier, and began to finally put it from his mind until he graduated with his Masters. And then he thought he saw her once or twice before he began his travels out of the country.

 

His confusion must have shown on his face because Jim continued without prompting. "Gloria is from a line of Elite Royal guards. They are trained from a young age how to defend themselves and their charges from anything, including that thing that attacked you three times."

 

Blair blinked. "Three times? Once in the parking lot and once here, where else?"

 

"Once in the hospital. That's when Gloria picked you up and took you away." Jim took a moment to nuzzle into Blair's hair and Blair figured that is was an attempt by Jim to remind himself that his friend was still alive and safe in his arms.

 

"So where did she take me? I mean, where are we now?"

 

Jim remained silent for a time. Then he said, "Ask me something else, Chief, please? I'm not sure how to explain that part yet."

 

Blair nodded quietly and thought about another question. He figured this one was just as hard to ask as the last was to answer. "Does Mom know where I am?"

 

Jim's sigh was exactly what Blair had been expecting. But he was not going to let his friend get out of this one. "Jim, just tell me if she's alive still?"

 

Jim's heavy sigh was easy to interpret. And honestly he had suspected as much. If that thing had come after him, it was a safe bet that others would try to take out the rest of his family, for whatever reason. "Tell me it was quick. Tell me *you* dealt with her body."

 

"It was and I did. I promise that Naomi is in a better place, she never knew what hit her." Jim held on tighter and Blair realized he was shaking. And that the sound he heard, the wailing cry was his own. They sat together for what seemed like forever but most likely was only a few minutes. Blair had stopped shaking and stopped crying and now he felt tired again. What he wouldn't give for a good cup of coffee right now.

 

"Jim, where are we?" It was the only question he had left based on the information he had so far. Sure there would be other questions, but this one was very important. "Are we still in Cascade?"

 

"No Chief. We aren't in Cascade anymore... We aren't in the states anymore... Hell we aren't even on Earth anymore." Jim loosened his grip and Blair pulled back to look his friend in the eyes. He needed to *see* the truth as well as hear it. "Blair, we are 32 billion light years from Earth, on a medical transport ship called the Hippocrates. It's in orbit around a very large planet named Zodiac."

 

Blair took this in, wallowed it around in his mouth, tested the texture of this thing and finally swallowed it all. "I take it there is a good reason for us being here? Were those things after you or me? And why would they be after either of us?"

 

Jim nodded once. "Yeah I would be thinking the same thing, except I know why. See Chief, I've been sort of out of it for about 3 months. That's how long they had me in a sensory deprivation tank while we travelled to meet up with this transport. But they woke me up a little less than a week ago so that Gloria could explain."

 

"Explain what?" Blair asked as he sat up. It sounded like this was the important part of the conversation. And he was right as Jim explained to Blair about his father, the rest of the family, and what happened nine months prior. Of course he was upset that he had lost his family before he even got a chance to meet them. His father had been an important figure in the government and he was much impressed. But what did it mean for him? "So without the King and royal family, who's left to rule?"

 

Jim shrugged a shoulder and cast a woebegone look his direction. "That would be the last living relative of the Monarch, Chief. That would be you."

 

Gloria took that moment to enter the room and smile down on Jim and Blair. Blair looked up at her for confirmation of what Jim had just told him and her smile widened. But if he was still uncertain her next words were, "Good Morning Heir Apparent Blair Jacob Sandburg. I see you have rested well. We have much to discuss today."


	7. Chapter 7

Jim sat back and watched Blair shift into interrogation mode. It was something he had never tired in watching all the years since Blair became a cop. The subtle shift in his posture and the way he appeared to grow about three inches taller. It always tickled Jim to watch Blair use that attitude on kids who thought they were punks.

 

But this was Gloria, and she wasn't a bit ruffled by his antics. Instead she punched several buttons on a desktop pad and waited by the door for the nurse that brought a cart of food and a carafe of what he could only assume was the Zodian version of coffee. This he was more than happy to pour into cups for the three of them, handing one straight to Blair. Once everyone settled, Gloria in the chair to Blair's left and Jim sitting next to Blair on the sofa.

 

Blair, of course, was first to speak. "My mother is dead. My father, whom I have never met, is dead. Things came after me on earth and you rescued me. You did something to me that healed me. How long did you wait before you went back for Jim?"

 

Gloria sipped her coffee before answering. "Three months. That's how long it took us to unlock your encrypted files and find out about Jim. I went back immediately after that to question Jim and find out what he meant to you. I wasn't the only one to do so."

 

"And what did you discover?" Blair asked, an edge of concern in his voice.

 

"I learned that Jim has special skills that I came to the conclusion that it was these skills that allowed Jim to see the danger to you the night of the attack. Since I have no superior to consult with, I took it upon myself to bring Jim back with me. I was lucky to get him out before the Chameleons came back to get him." Gloria leaned over and snagged a pastry from the tray, taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully, most likely to go over what she wanted to tell Blair. Blair gave her an opening to continue her explanation.

 

"How bad did he look?"

 

Jim sighed and rolled his eyes while Gloria blinked at the supposed non sequiter. She recovered enough to give as non descript an accounting as possible. "He wasn't all that well. But the Doctor who came with me was able to--"

 

"Gigi, how bad?" Blair interrupted as he nudged Jim in the side. "He has a habit of hiding his troubles but in order to know how to help him, I have to know what happened."

 

Jim felt that maybe he could dissuade his partner from this line of questioning. "Chief, there's no need to worry. Doctor Sheld--"

 

"Is most likely a very capable doctor, Jim. But my first responsibility has always been to see to your health." Blair turned to Jim and stared him down hard. To Gloria he explained, "When Jim's Shaman died he passed on the 'Way' to me. He made it my duty to watch over the Watchman and to see to his needs as a healer and a spiritualist. Jim likes to forget that sometimes, but not me. So tell me, how bad was it?"

 

Gloria deflated immediately, her face drawing down into such a pained expression. "It was really bad. He was close to death; every sense was off the charts. Simon had put him in a hospice that saw to his needs and kept him in seclusion. Dr. Sheld put him in an isolation tank for the entire trip back to catch up with Hippocrates. He believes the only reason Jim is doing so well is because of our proximity to you."

 

Blair stared hard at Jim, not so much a glare as a concerned gaze. Jim dropped his eyes, not wanting to match that gaze, knowing that things had been bad but unable to explain why. Finally Blair must have come to some conclusion about it. "As long as you knew Incacha was alive, you remained in control for the most part. Before Incacha died, he made sure to fully pass on the bond between the two of you. Your mind might have tried to say that I was dead, but your body and spirit knew better. That's why you lasted so long without me. But like Dr. Sheld supposed, the distance was too great for you to handle. Bringing you closer to me strengthened the bond again and made you better."

 

Jim opened his eyes and smiled slightly back at a grinning Blair. "Okay, that sounds more than plausible, Chief. It just means I'll never be able to leave you. I can handle that."

 

Blair chuckled as Gloria heaved a sigh of relief before interrupting again, "There is something very important you need to deal with before anything else. With the death of the King, there was also the loss of his Advisory Council. Four individuals who helped the King decide various aspects of law, governing and life. You need your own council."

 

Blair nodded thoughtfully. "So what positions do I need to fill?"

 

Gloria leaned forward, ready to get to work. "There is Minister of Council, Minister of War, Supreme Personal Guard and Royal Physician."

 

Blair sat quietly for a moment. Jim wondered about one of the positions. The other three were self explanatory, but what the hell was a Minister of Council? Blair seemed to have the same question in mind. "What exactly does the Minister of Council do?"

 

Gloria smiled. "Your father was Minister of Council for your uncle. His duties were to confer with the whole of council, 100 men and women strong, collect their disputes that could not be handled in house, and bring them in order of importance to the King."

 

"So he was the go between for the Council and the King, to keep them from overwhelming the King?" Jim clarified. Blair grinned.

 

"Sounds like it was a measure for security as well, Jim. If only four people can get to the King at once time, less of a distraction and easier for the guard to protect the King." Blair turned back to Gloria. "How well do you know the council?"

 

Gloria blinked, "Me? Um, I've known the remaining council members since I came to Zodiac at the age of 12."

 

"And you know the history of Zodiac and can work as a go between for me. I trust that my father and the King were close?" Blair asked.

 

"As close as twin brothers can be," she replied. Settling back in her chair she continued. "So I am Minister of Council. What else?"

 

"Personal Guardian is Jim, that's a given," Blair responded, flicking a glance at Jim and receiving a nod in affirmation. He thought for a second before saying, "Jim do you like this Dr. Sheld?"

 

"Yeah Chief. He doesn't treat me like a lab rat, he's careful to follow all of your notes. I trust him with my life; I would trust him with yours as well." Jim grinned as he saw how Blair was already settling into his role.

 

"Good, that settles that. Now for the hard one. I know absolutely no one but you two, and I can't make one of you fit into two positions. So Minister of War, I assume that is all military?" Blair clarified. Gloria nodded. Jim cleared his throat.

 

"Sandburg, I could make a suggestion. The Captain of the Mercury is a very capable man with many years of experience. And he hardly hesitated to take my advice with this last attack by the Chameleons." Jim looked to Gloria who nodded confirmation before adding her own two cents.

 

"Marcus Thorn is the son of the previous Minister of War. General Richard Thorn died attempting to save your father after the bombing. I believe Marcus would see it as a sign of honor to be counted in the advisory board."

 

Blair smiled, "Gigi, I think I have my four selections! Now when do we get to go down to the planet?"

 

Jim snickered. The soon to be King looked more like a curly haired kid in a toy store with all the wonders set before him to explore. Gloria grinned as well as she reached over for one of the communicator pads Jim recognized from the Mercury. Blair glanced back and forth between Jim and Gloria, as if he couldn't settle on just one thing to look at.

 

"Chief, we have all the time in the world. Save yourself a bit of headache and let things come at their own pace. Sheld wants to check on you first to see that you are properly healed and then we can go down to the planet." Jim reached over and snagged his partner in a headlock, giving his head a noogie worthy of the old days. Blair yelped as before, warning against messing with his hair. Gloria ignored them for the most part as she called Councilman Cole and gave him the good news.

 

o-O-o

 

The next week flew by like a whirl-wind. After meeting Dr. Sheld, Blair was examined stem to stern and came out of it with a clean bill of health. His question of how he was healed was answered and he was suitably impressed. Nanites were thought to be more science fiction on Earth, but here they were a miracle reality. He also had another meeting with Councilmen Cole and discussed with him how best to replace the men and women who had died in the attack.

 

The day after that was the trip down to Zodiac and introduction to the staff at the Capital. Blair was immediately impressed when Gustav, the Major Domo, called him Blair, not 'Your Majesty' or any other title. And he was doublely impressed when Gustav showed his tact in explaining that Jim's dietary restrictions were known to him and would be strictly adhered to. Jim was secretly pleased to hear Gustav whisper to him that there *was* a stash of cookies for the Sentinel in the kitchen and he had only to ask for a midnight snack.

 

For the rest of the week breakfast was brought at dawn by Harmony, their personal maid who was screened personally by Jim and his senses. Jim usually slipped out for a security check while Harmony prepared the sitting area of Blair's suite for company. Lunch was served on the fly somewhere between meetings of Blair's Advice council, his publicist, his seamster and the committee organizing his coronation. Jim remained silently nearby on constant guard and when Blair began to feel overwhelmed a simple glance his direction had the Sentinel calling a halt to all proceedings until the next day.

 

Dinner was served only for the two of them, in private, in the suite. Blair would end the day reading from some data pad about history or government law or anything he could get his hands on. Jim would do his exercise routines until Blair fell asleep with the book in his hand and his glasses slipping off his nose. Then Jim would gently put the book away, take off the glasses and help Blair to his feet. Finally he would tuck Blair into one side of the bed and climb in the opposite side to sleep. And if anyone found fault in the fact that the Supreme Royal Guard slept in bed with His Majesty, no one said a word.

 

o-O-o

 

The day of the Coronation ceremony arrived without another attack from the Chameleons and Blair figured they were about due. Unfortunately one of the main points of the ceremony was to show that although Blair had the support of his people and his staff, he could still stand on his own. So when it came time for the actual handing over of the crown, Blair would have to walk it alone. Rules stated that his Guardian had to stand with the rest of his Advisory board by the dais and his throne.

 

Jim was not happy about this one bit. He was allowed to carry a weapon, a ceremonial sword, but he could not be close to Blair and this made him nervous. Gloria also was upset about this rule but it was tradition and one that Blair was determined to uphold before those assembled. Unlike his closest friends Captain Thorn, now Major and Minister of War, looked at Blair and saw someone who could handle this last act of vulnerability. It all finally came down to Blair as he stepped up to the mark on the carpet that he had been instructed would be the place where he took his vow before all of Zodiac.

 

As he sealed his oath and turned to where his crown waited, one of the men on the sidelines of the crowd began to edge forward. Blair noticed him at the same time that Jim and Gloria did. But while they were still too far away, the Chameleon struck, claws unsheathing and mandibles clacking as it transformed and came after Blair. Women screamed and Jim surged forward. Blair turned to stare calmly at his enemy. Jim's last image of his friend was blocked out by the insect one moment, and then cleared again in the next as it froze and fell into two pieces. One body and one head.

 

The crowd collectively caught its breath as Blair stood firm, a short blade in his right hand. If there was a rule that the Heir Apparent was not to carry a weapon at his own coronation, no one had told him. And he knew he would have to show the world that he, Blair Jacob Sandburg the 1st, King of Zodiac, could protect himself against any enemy should the need arise. Jim positively beamed as Blair took his crown and walked to his throne. With Gloria and Thorn on one side, Sheld and Jim on the other, Blair took his place as ruler, fulfilling the legacy and finally finding his place in the Universe.

 

~end~


End file.
